Orlando Magic's 2026 Salary Cap Tracker: How Much Room, Flexibility Do They Have This Offseason?

The Orlando Magic's season is now officially over after blowing a 3-1 lead ot the Detroit Pistons (again), losing 116-94 in Game 7. Fresh off defeat, the Magic have a very long -- yet compelling -- offseason ahead, where a lot of tough conversations will need to be had.

What does the Magic's payroll look like heading into the 2026 summer, where the projected salary cap will be $165 million? Let's dive right into it!

Magic players under contract:

Apr 12, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) drives to the basket during the first half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Magic technically have 12 players under contract next season, though only two of them have options or any partial guarantee. Here are the other 10 below:

Franz Wagner: $41.8 million; 25.3 percent of projected cap
Paolo Banchero: $41.3 million (This number could change depending on the 2026-27 salary cap increasing/decreasing from the current $165 million projection.); 25.0 percent
Desmond Bane: $39.4 million; 23.9 percent
Jalen Suggs: $32.4 million; 19.6 percent
Wendell Carter Jr.: $18.1 million; 11.0 percent
Anthony Black: $10.1 million; 6.1 percent
Goga Bitadze: $7.6 million; 4.6 percent
Tristan da Silva: $4.0 million; 2.4 percent
Jase Richardson: $3.1 million; 1.9 percent
Noah Penda: $2.2 million; 1.3 percent

Partially guaranteed:

Feb 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac (1) against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Jonathan Isaac: $14.5 million (only $8 million guaranteed until June 28, 2026); 8.8 percent

Isaac's contract was originally expected to be fully guaranteed next season if he played 52 games or more in 2025-26. Though his contract was amended in early March to where it would become fully guaranteed if he's still on the team by June 28, eliminating the games played incentive.

Isaac played in exactly 52 games, averaging a career-low 2.6 points and 2.5 rebounds on 42.2 percent shooting and 18.4 percent from 3-point range. He played at least 10 minutes in 29 games.

Team Option:

Jamal Cain: $2.6 million

After appearing in just 40 games during the regular season, Cain emerged as a consistent postseason player for Orlando. He averaged 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds across 17.6 minutes per game, shooting 41.4 percent from the floor with a well-below-average 47.3 true shooting percentage.

Who are Magic's free agents?:

Moritz Wagner (bird)
Jett Howard (bird)
Jevon Carter (non-bird)
Colin Castleton (two-way)

Orlando will have a few free agents this summer.

The most notable one is Moe Wagner, Franz's brother, who finished up his fifth full season with Orlando. He returned midseason from a knee injury, averaging 6.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 36 games across 11.9 minutes per game.

Recall that the Magic declined Howard's fourth-year option last summer. He was in-and-out of the rotation, averaging 5.5 points and 1.6 rebounds on 37.2 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Wagner -- and Howard -- are both bird free agents, meaning the Magic can go above the salary cap to re-sign both up to the max. Carter, who signed after being bought out by Chicago, is a non-bird free agent, meaning he will be limited in the new contract he can sign with Orlando, should he decide to re-up.

Teams can sign non-bird free agents who aren't RFAs to a starting salary that is the greater of 1.) 120 percent of their previous year's salary or 2.) 120 percent of the minimum salary. Since Carter signed a prorated minimum with Orlando, he'd fit into the latter.

Magic will be quite expensive next offseason:

Apr 5, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

In essence, the Magic, on paper, have little-to-no flexibility this summer.

With Banchero's extension kicking in, they are set to have approximately $217 million on their books, according to Spotrac. That's the third-highest figure in the NBA, trailing only Oklahoma City and Cleveland. Additionally, they will be roughly $9.4 million above the first apron and $3.6 below the ultra-punitive second.

That doesn't account for their second-round pick, who can either sign a two-way contract (does not count against cap) or to the newly-minted second-round exception (projected to be worth ~$2-2.5M for first year).

As we previously highlighted, they can create some extra flexibility by declining Cain's team option and waiving Isaac. Those two moves free up $9.1 million.

Orlando also an important decision to make regarding Anthony Black. The third-year guard had a difficult postseason and will be extension eligible this summer. His new deal wouldn't kick in until 2027-28, though with Wagner, Bane, Suggs, Banchero and Carter Jr. on their books through 2028-29, at least, consolidation will need to be made somewhere if they want to keep Black around.

President Jeff Weltman has plenty of tough decisions to make without much maneuverability. Change must be made, but from where?

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